[Sh Ranger]

Welcome back from your sudden hiatus!

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 8 -- "A New Magic Stone"

Haruto also tells Hiroki that no parent doesn't care about their child, which might come off as a platitude, but the important thing to note is that it's a platitude out of Haruto's mouth, in this story that shows us his parents worrying only about their son even as their own lives faded away. The value of the line isn't only the text itself, but how it speaks to the strong feelings Haruto has on this subject based on his own experiences. Of course that'd be Haruto's perspective on the matter, and, of course, because saving Gates is more than just blowing up a Phantom, through this conversation, he's able to help Hiroki realize he needs to communicate the actual reasons he's mad, even offering to help him talk to his mother tomorrow.

I think the truth behind that platitude is that being a parent doesn't mean you care for your child, but rather, caring for your child means you're a parent. Just that sometimes, parents, people in general actually, can suck at expressing in words that they care, as Mikiko feels like she can tell Haruto but not Hiroki directly. Same goes for Hiroki, who like a typical pouty child (which he is, so fair enough) gets upset about the unfairness of not being heard without honestly calling out his parents so they can know where they went wrong. Their relationship is broken right now, but Haruto knows it can be fixed and they just have to respect each other's feelings.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I appreciate the theatricality, naturally. Again, up to this point, Phantom talking scenes have all been set in various urban locations, basically any room or corner where people won't notice, so there's a strong contrast even just from that. Makes it more of an occasion that we're finally seeing the big boss for him to have this more elaborate dedicated space all to himself.

Komura sure is known for her main villains chilling out while their minions do all the work. I agree that the spooky cave lair makes Wiseman look like a big deal though, kind of like the authoritative image of a Shogun with the distance he puts between himself and Phoenix and Medusa, conveying the impersonal dynamic they have in a quick and effective way.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

All the chatter was no doubt a bit much for some people, especially back when there was less precedent for it, but, if I was ever opposed to the idea to begin with, I can say for sure the end of this episode made me love those sounds. The beat I always remembered most from this fight is Wizard fruitlessly using the Defend Ring with Land Style, in yet another tactic that worked better against an earlier opponent. (Phoenix is going on more of a rampage than the show's literal bull monster.) There are three uses of the Ring right in a row, and I honestly think the repetition of the sound is critical to the sheer sense of dread it evokes for Phoenix to smash down the walls like they're nothing. Because with sounds that call *that* much attention to themselves, how could they be nothing? It feels viscerally wrong for Wizard to be busting out this many noisy powers this quickly and somehow not accomplishing a thing.

I love WizarDriver's sounds as well! I can hear that little techno whistle effect even now. Adding to your comment on the dramatic effect of Wizard desperately spamming Defend against Phoenix, each of those "Luppachi Magic" sounds also signal a loss of mana, reminding us that Wizard cannot fight indefinitely. So even in the miraculous event that he somehow managed to get the upper hand on Phoenix in this fight, he'd still be screwed once he runs out! Phoenix on the other hand, like his namesake, is perpetual. He can just keep going as far as his will to fight and that stamina gap really shows the one-sided nature of this fight. Wizard is no longer fighting to win at this point, he has no plan, no confidence, he's literally just trying to survive.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 9 -- "The Dragon's Cry"

Wait, did I say this scene was "like" a nightmare? I meant it actually *is* one, as Haruto is shown waking up at this point. It's obvious something is strange by the time all the guest characters are, you know, dying, but the strength of this misdirection is that it takes that long for it to become obvious to begin with. The specific progression of scenes is especially masterful. The last we see of Haruto before this is him falling asleep, but because there's that scene in reality sandwiched in the middle where Phoenix promises to go do exactly what Haruto dreams of, it sneakily creates the impression that the Phoenix/Medusa scene is the one being followed up on.

For sure, it's one of the cruelest nightmare sequences I can recall. Even on a rewatch, I think it caught me off guard for how suddenly it escalated. Despite being a nightmare, I'm sure we can all agree that the merciless Phoenix conjured by Haruto's mind is portrayed realistically here, being willing, eager even, to attack people at their most defenseless, all in front of a kid who's helpless to do anything else but despair. Phantoms are some of the most depraved villains in Rider and among them, Phoenix is one of the most severe examples of how irredeemably terrible they can be.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The gravity of the situation has Hiroki reflecting on his earlier behavior, now believing this whole mess is his fault for saying he'd be better off without them around. In a nice touch, you can actually see Shunpei reacting to this before anyone, taking a few steps towards Hiroki, only to quickly stop when Haruto suddenly and aggressively snaps that Hiroki is wrong to blame himself. He tries to reassure Hiroki that his parents aren't gone yet and that he can't give up now, but Haruto is making this argument with such raw intensity that it becomes very clear he's mostly talking directly to himself, as he tries desperately to hold it all together. It's an added layer of subtext that can only come across so strongly because the lines between Haruto's past and present have become so blurred in this moment. There's the immediate situation with Phoenix he's talking about, but it's so much deeper than that. When Haruto tells a young boy he can't give up hope because his parents placed their hopes in him, I have to wonder how many other times throughout his life Haruto has told himself those exact words to find the motivation to push on when it seemed impossible. They may well have been what got him through that eclipse, even.

Oh, I absolutely believe Haruto's first traumatic backstory helped him survive his second traumatic backstory! It's grim to think that if he hadn't vowed to become the Final Hope for the parents he lost that night, he wouldn't have had gained the strength of will to overcome the Sabbat. In other words, his parents kind of became the Final Hope for him as well, his memory of their courage and hope in the face of certain death being the power driving him to hold on until the very end. Him snapping at Hiroki is just like how he did to Manami in the previous arc, it's a clear sign that somebody's dispondant words has hit Haruto in a vulnerable place in his heart. He can't stand seeing people give up on themselves when he's still around, fighting to keep them going even in a situation where he's also losing, but fighting nevertheless.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The hero falling in a body of water and 2 broken benches in the same episode. I suspect that Inoue Toshiki edited Komura's script when she wasn't looking.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Twice in a row, so you can't miss it, Haruto calls despair hope, which is essentially the whole point of this episode. Wizard isn't a hero who simply creates hope, but rather, as the opening narration always says, one who changes despair *into* hope. As such, I can't imagine a more fitting backstory for Haruto than suffering such a tragic loss and choosing to remember the love more than the pain. It's finding light by looking *inside* the darkness, and right back to the eclipse, that's also the raw essence of Wizard -- taking a situation that could crush him and making it an ally. That's why he isn't scared by Dragon. There are a few layers to Dragon's warning, but the most important thematically is the simple fact that directly using his power means relying on a Phantom, and a Phantom's power *is* despair itself. But that doesn't matter to Haruto, because as his Underworld exemplifies, the closer he is to despair, the closer he is to hope. He'll just make Dragon an ally too, and use that power to continue showing other Gates on the precipice of despair the same thing he learned when he too was at a point in his life where he couldn't imagine going on any longer -- if you only hold on to hope, what seems like the ending is just the beginning.

Hope isn't something you can just create after all. I mentioned before that despair is what gives meaning to hope. It's the power to believe in an uncertain outcome and the will to fight for it against overwhelming odds. Haruto's hope shines brightest when he's pushed to the cusp of despair. His parents' deaths gave him the hope to become strong for the sake of others. The Sabbat gave him the hope to become Wizard. The Dragon within him is merely another stepping stone towards Haruto's hope and Haruto's dialogue shows that he's totally aware of that nuanced symbiosis between hope and despair in a way that Dragon, despair incarnate, can't even refute. It's a clever spin on the recurring Rider theme of using the power of evil for the sake of good.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Not like I can focus on that stuff when I can be focusing on Flame Dragon, though. Putting aside the surrounding drama for a moment, the design is doing basically everything right to look like an evolved Flame Style. The robe now being a bright red makes it more ostentatious (which means more heroic). The shoulders are bigger (which means more powerful). Their size makes room for big red gemstones, which balances out the loss of the the previous design for the chest, which now has the stones more subtly incorporated into the new defining feature of a dragon face worked into the outfit. The dragon theme is also present in the new helmet, with very dynamically shaped "eyebrows" that go nicely with the added sharp angles of the robe. I'm pretty sure the awesomeness of Flame Dragon is thus objectively observable, but I must admit how biased my own opinion is when the strong narrative context it debuts in makes the suit next to impossible to dislike.

Reminds me of Faiz Blaster with how the Photon Blood spills out on the suit. Wizard Flame Style was already red, but Flame Dragon is redder, a simple and effective change to show that his magic has just upgraded from Fire to Firaga, if you get that reference. I think the Dragon forms are a cool improvement on the concept of Kuuga's Rising forms, with Wizard being able to manifest parts of Dragon's physical body outside of the Underworld, which is awesome as hell! There something else I enjoy about these forms, but I can't bring that up yet, since Flame Dragon is an outlier. It's Special, if you get what I mean.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

But then, if I keep worrying about every last thing I haven't said, or could've said better, I'm never going to get around to the most important thing I've neglected to mention until now -- this is my favorite Wizard two-parter, and 9 in particular is an eternal god-tier favorite among the hundreds of Rider episodes I've seen. Might explain the extra enthusiasm!

Episode 9's climax even made it in to Battride War as Wizard's iconic boss fight. Totally a good pick for your favorite! I guess that's why you took so long to get to this one, like you wanted to phrase everything just right to express why you appreciate it so much and yeah, I think you made a lot of excellent points that many Wizard critics overlook. It's the first arc to seriously delve in to Haruto as a character and build a strong emotional connection to the viewer. I liked him before this arc of course, but even more after understanding his experience and motivation for protecting hope.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Like polishing a gemstone, they help bring out the beauty of the whole series.

Fitting that you would use this simile, as I recently started my rewatch of Kiramager, another show about magic and stones. I'll have thoughts to share about that later in the Sentai watch thread.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Wonder if red and white is a reference to Indonesia's national flag.

Good observation!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

And Kamen Rider is a franchise where often, the dad is the archnemesis.

And sometimes, a villainous father in Rider can be an example of someone who commits evil deeds out of unhealthy love for his kid. It's not just about caring for your child, but the way you care is also important.